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Chapter 79 – Leaps and Bounds
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 14:24:56 +0000 UTCBenton wanted to get as far from the town as they could in the remaining daylight. With friendly relations established between him and Fatty Ren, there was no real fear of cultivators interfering with the caravan, but they were transporting lots of vulnerable kids and valuable goods.
It was best to get the wagons away from where they might prove to be a temptation to the town’s many mortal gangs. If nothing else, he didn’t want the orphans first experience with his sect to be the violent slaughter of would-be bandits.
Benton waited until nearly sunset to call for a stop, and while his experienced disciples made camp and put water on to boil, he followed the tradition he’d established and asked the nineteen new people to follow him into the woods.
While Peng Zhen had a suspicion about what was about to happen, the orphans and the gang had been told little except that they were moving with Benton to a new home.
Once everyone was seated in a circle lit by qi orbs, Benton said, “I am Chao Su, and I assume all of you understand that I am a cultivator of some power.”
There were nods all around.
He fingered the pin on his left breast. “This token names me as a friend of the Poison Claw Sect, one of the three most prestigious sects in this part of the continent. Town Lord Ren also counts me as a friend and has asked my advice on how to handle certain issues.”
The last large group he had inducted had been told by Kang Ya-Ting how important Benton was. The group before him mostly didn’t know him from Adam. Even though talking himself up felt a bit awkward for him, he thought it best to explain to the newcomers that he wasn’t a jumped-up wandering cultivator.
“I am forming a sect near the Prosperous Gray Forest Village, and all of you are to be members of this new sect. Give me your honest effort at work and cultivation, and I will give you a place to belong and a longer, healthier, richer life.”
The orphans and gangs were all visibly shocked by the announcement, so Benton gave them a moment to calm down. Eventually, he pulled out the orb and told each of them their talents and qi aspects. He explained that they were not talented enough to join any other sect, but that was okay. His sect was different. However, it was unlikely any of them would get past the Foundation Establishment realm, but if they were diligent, he promised to do everything in his power to get them at least that far.
“What I require from you differs depending on your group.” He turned to Peng Zhen. “You and your family are to run the contribution point shop. As the sect grows, this task may become unmanageable without more people. If that time comes, I’ll get you help. Any questions?”
“No, Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
Benton scanned the boy who led the gang to refresh his memories.
Metal aspects tended to like blades and earth aspects were good in defense. The combination suited the role Benton had planned.
He met the boy’s eyes. “What’s your name?”
“Zi Delan, Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
“In terms of martial inclined members, the sect has the twins, who are the two most powerful cultivators besides me in the sect, and Ye Zan and his sixteen guards, who are being trained to patrol and defend the sect grounds and other places that I tell them to. The sect needs a strike force that I can send out to capture or kill enemies. You will be that force. Do you agree?”
Zi Delan swallowed hard. He turned and got a nod from each of his crew before answering. “Yes, Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
“Good.” Benton softened his tone greatly before turning to the orphans. “Is there one of you who speaks for the others?”
A little guy cupped his hands and bowed. “This lowly one does, Esteemed Master Cultivator. This lowly one is Hao Cheng.”
So cute!
Benton scanned him again, too.
The wood aspect would make him a perfect fit to harvest or work with the Orange Vigor Spirit Wood, if that was what he wanted.
“Nice to meet you, Hao Cheng. It was brave of you to speak up. What I require of you ten is a lot different than of others seated around you. You will be outer sect members along with some other younger members who were in a similar situation to yours but in the village. Mistress Zhong will look after you.”
Some of them looked relieved to hear that.
“Gratitude for taking care of us, Esteemed Master Cultivator, but what can these lowly ones do to repay the sect?” Hao Cheng said.
“I’m glad you asked and that you’re thinking of it in those terms,” Benton said. “To begin with, I simply want you to cultivate and be attentive to what anyone is teaching you. The sect has many, many positions that will need to be filled. We need blacksmiths and fletchers and alchemists and growers of spirit herbs and woodworkers and wood harvesters and, yes, fighters. And many, many other things besides. I want each of you to take a year or two and try out different things until you find something that both helps the sect and makes you happy. Then, I want you to do that thing to the best of your ability. Can you do that?”
The little fellow nodded vigorously. “Yes, Esteemed Master Cultivator!”
So, so cute!
“Okay,” Benton said, returning to addressing the group at large, “the first step in the process is for each of you to become my disciples. From the time the ceremony is complete until the sect is officially formed, you shall call me Master.”
“What should these lowly ones call the Esteemed Master Cultivator after that?” Hao Cheng said.
“Either Sect Leader or Master, depending on the circumstances.”
The little boy nodded.
Benton pulled a table, a couple of teapots, tea, and nineteen cups from his ring and directed Zi Delan to get everything set up for the ceremony, including getting the boiling water from the camp. Meanwhile, Benton called Peng Zhen, his wife, and Peng Hanying off to the side.
Benton was having a hard time deciding what to do with Peng Hanying. On one hand, he had a powerful and, to this point, unique, qi aspect. Using resources from the Shop, if any were available, to nurture such a disciple made a lot of sense. On the other, he literally was on the lowest rung of talent, just a small step above those who couldn’t cultivate at all. The boy as he was would never reach even Golden Core, meaning that qi aspect would go to waste and that pouring more resources into him was stupid.
The only thing stopping Benton from just giving the boy the standard cultivation method and treating him like all the other orphans was that Benton didn’t know what the Shop had available and for what price.
“Is there a problem, Esteemed Master Cultivator?” Peng Zhen said somewhat nervously.
“Not so much a problem as a potential opportunity. After the disciple ceremony, I’m going to give almost everyone a cultivation method and teach them how to get started.” Benton turned to Peng Hanying. “Your qi aspect is quite rare, and I find it very interesting. Instead of having you start cultivating immediately, I’d prefer to do some research first. I just wanted to explain that I’m not punishing you or your family or anything like that by not giving you the method yet. In fact, I’m doing the same thing with another one of my disciples, literally the third most talented one after the twins. Do you understand?”
“This lowly one is disappointed not to start with everyone else, but this lowly one would rather start correctly than start fast, Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
“Excellent response. Let’s get started then.”
Benton was becoming quite the expert both at performing the bai-si tea ceremony and leading beginners through sensing qi for the first time. Accomplishing both still took quite some time, but by the time everyone turned in for the night, Benton had gained another nineteen disciples, eighteen Sect Points, and nineteen Shop Points.
Nice. Benton’s future sect was growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, he finally felt satisfied that, for the moment, recruitment was where it needed to be.
He was also happy with his Sect Points. Even if he had to use ten points for a new individual cultivation method or for a technique, he’d still have all the points he needed to start body cultivation. In fact, he made a vow to himself not to let his point total fall below fifty-five before he got that particular ball rolling.
Even better, he’d just gained two more points for his personal growth, and since he was out of hock, he could actually use them. He had a lot of choices, though, so he decided to spend the travel time tomorrow really mulling over his options before choosing one.
